It appears that one of Jeff Sessions’ final acts before walking out the door was a memo seeking to limit future “consent decrees”, which are orders the previous administration used to mandate reforms at police departments.

One of Attorney General Jeff Sessions last acts before resigning was to put limitations on any future ‘consent decrees,’ which are basically orders requiring police departments with serious problems to reform. Sessions was never a fan, to say the least. https://t.co/VvMknDTHqFpic.twitter.com/ZXXdPX7iHO

This issue has been a priority of Sessions, targeting Obama’s efforts to force reforms at police departments with records of racial disparities in enforcement, excessive force, and unjustified stops and arrests.

It is unfortunately not surprising that on the same day I officially became a Congresswoman-Elect, other families in this country are receiving the same exact call that I did six years ago when I learned my son had been murdered.

You must be aware that your public comments criticizing Mr. Mueller’s investigation have been widely circulated. At various opportunities – in print, on television, and through social media – you have suggested cutting the Special Counsel’s budget or limiting his authority to follow lines of inquiry. As prosecutors and law enforcement officials committed to the rule of law, we believe that the independent Special Counsel must have the full authority to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute any violations of federal law.

The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

For a quick break from DC political news today, an 18-year-old has just become the country’s youngest mayor. In a race against two other candidates, Ben Simons won 41% of the vote and is now charged to represent the roughly 1,000 residents in his hometown Yoncalla, Oregon.

According to KEZI, the local ABC news affiliate, Simons graduated last June as his high school’s valedictorian and has worked as both a city councilor and volunteer firefighter. Now, along with being the city’s mayor, he is a student at Umpqua Community College.

“My age shouldn’t be my qualifying or disqualifying factor,” he told local reporter Brady Wakayama. “I really got the skill set and the ambition to take on this and I hope to do good for this community.”

AP may retract call for Ron DeSantis

The Associated Press, which makes definitive calls in the media about elections, has said it is closely monitoring the governor’s race in Florida, where election officials are still counting absentee ballots. The AP says it could ultimately retract its call for Republican Ron DeSantis:

AP on Tuesday called the election for Republican Ron DeSantis over Democrat Andrew Gillum. DeSantis holds a lead of 38,613 votes out of more than 8.2 million ballots counted a margin of 0.47 percentage points.

Under Florida law, a recount is mandatory if the margin of the winning candidate is less than 0.5 percentage points when the first unofficial count is verified Saturday by Florida’s secretary of state.

Should that count show DeSantis with a margin of less than 0.5 percentage points, triggering a recount, AP will retract its call for DeSantis. It is AP policy not to call a race that is facing a recount. If the race proceeds to a recount, no new call will be made until the recount is complete and the results of the election are certified by Florida officials.

Here’s the Gillum campaign’s statement from earlier:

Jamiles Lartey (@JamilesLartey)

Statement from the Gillum campaign moments ago isn't exactly a retraction of his concession to DeSantis-- but that's more or less the point. pic.twitter.com/aZiEIGhVWu

Meanwhile, in a sign of how intense a recount could be, some commentators have noted potentially curious numbers in Florida, including in Broward County, where it appears there were fewer votes case in the Senate race than in the governor’s race:

Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki)

The drop-off in Broward isn't limited to one type of voting. There are significantly fewer votes in the Senate race than for Gov (and for Ag commissioner for that matter) whether the ballot was mailed in, cast in-person on election day, or cast early: pic.twitter.com/bLPOdwpZp2

Protests to defend Mueller launch across US

Thousands of demonstrators in more than 900 cities around the US are expected to take the streets tonight, in protest against Trump’s firing of Jeff Sessions. The “Mueller protection rapid response” organized by progressive advocacy organization, MoveOn, was planned for 5pm local time, and protests are already kicking off on the east coast.

In firing Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump has crossed a red line and started a constitutional crisis. We are activating our rapid-response network, launching mass protests nationwide TOMORROW (11/8) at 5pm local time.

Right now: People are gathering in Times Square to protest President Trump's firing of Jeff Sessions. The rally will begin here, with a march down 7th Ave. to Union Square. I'll be covering for WNYC. pic.twitter.com/XiyO5qvb6N

The event page lists all the events scheduled for tonight with a call to arms:

Donald Trump just crossed a red line, violating the independence of the investigation pursuing criminal charges in the Trump-Russia scandal and cover-up. Trump putting himself above the law is a threat to our democracy, and we’ve got to get Congress to stop him. We’re mobilizing immediately to demand accountability, because Trump is not above the law.”

Mike Krafcik (@Mkrafcik)

HAPPENING NOW: Dozens are gathering in Bronson Park as part of a nationwide protest to protest President Donald Trump's firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.@wwmtnewspic.twitter.com/HQLHAYF0nF

Trump moves to restrict asylum claims

The Trump administration has moved to restrict asylum claims by migrants, with a new regulation that would block people from claiming asylum if they illegally cross the US-Mexico border.

The ACLU said it would be illegal to block the asylum process in this manner and would prohibit many individuals from applying. Said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s immigrants’ rights project:

US law specifically allows individuals to apply for asylum whether or not they are at a port of entry. It is illegal to circumvent that by agency or presidential decree.

The Department of Homeland Security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, and the acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, released a statement on the rule that said:

Consistent with our immigration laws, the President has the broad authority to suspend or restrict the entry of aliens into the United States if he determines it to be in the national interest to do so. Today’s rule applies this important principle to aliens who violate such a suspension or restriction regarding the southern border imposed by the President by invoking an express authority provided by Congress to restrict eligibility for asylum. Our asylum system is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it. Today, we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a Presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility.”

Republican senator Jeff Flake has said he will try to force a vote on legislation that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller:

Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake)

When the Senate convenes next week, @ChrisCoons and I will ask for unanimous consent to bring S.2644, the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, to a vote on the Senate floor. After the firing of The AG, it is more important than ever to protect the Special Counsel.

Earlier this year, we passed S.2644, the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would safeguard Robert Mueller’s investigation. Leader McConnell should bring the bill to the Senate floor as soon as possible

The AP had an independent video producer analyze the controversial video of CNN’s Jim Acosta tweeted out by the White House:

An independent video producer told the AP a video tweeted by the White House on an interaction between CNN reporter Jim Acosta and a White House intern appears to have been manipulated to make the reporter’s actions look more aggressive.

Abba Shapiro did a side-by-side and frame-by-frame analysis of AP’s video from President Donald Trump’s contentious news conference Wednesday and the version spread on Twitter by Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Shapiro said that when Acosta’s hand touches the intern’s arm as she reaches for his microphone, the action speeds up in the apparently altered video to accentuate his movement. Earlier in the video, Shapiro noticed three frames that were frozen to slow down the action. This, Shapiro said, enables the manipulated video to run the same length as the original.

The White House News Photographers Association has also released a statement condemning the White House for sharing a “manipulated video”:

Jake Tapper (@jaketapper)

“The White House News Photographers Association is appalled to learn that the White House spokesperson may have shared a manipulated video of CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s interaction with a White House intern during a news conference... https://t.co/YGBnp3BnZi

Whitaker once said judges should be Christian

Sam Levin here, taking over our live coverage. My colleague Jon Swaine has more on Matthew Whitaker, who once said that judges should be Christian and proposed blocking non-religious people from judicial appointments:

Matthew Whitaker, who was made acting attorney general on Wednesday after Trump fired Jeff Sessions, said judges needed a “biblical view of justice” and questioned the judgment of secular lawyers.

Whitaker made the remarks at a conservative forum in April 2014, where he appeared as a candidate for the Republican US Senate nomination in Iowa. Video clips of the event were saved by People For the American Way, a liberal campaign group.

The Republican candidates were asked what justification they would use to block the confirmation of federal judges nominated by Barack Obama, who was then US president.

Whitaker said he wanted to know about a judge’s judicial philosophy, along with their views on natural law, natural rights and the US founding documents. But he added: “I don’t think that gets us far enough.”

See his full story here:

Matthew Whitaker: acting attorney general said judges should be Christian

That leaves New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and California Rep. Barbara Lee in the running for the position, set to be vacated by Rep. Joe Crowley who fell to progressive challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Rep. Steve Cohen called the new acting attorney general a “hatchet man hired to destroy the Mueller investigation.”

Cohen (D-Tenn.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said that whether Matthew Whitaker must recuse himself from overseeing the investigation - which he does not intend to do, according to reports - may be determined in court.

“Our democracy is under attack,” he said on CNN. “This is an open and notorious and brutal assault on our democracy.”

House Democrats, who won control of the body this week, have said they will investigate Trump’s firings of Jeff Sessions. They sent letters Thursday to several top administration officials demanding the preservation of all documents and materials relevant to the special counsel’s Russia investigation and the Sessions firing.

They also asked current House Judiciary chair Bob Goodlatte to hold hearings right away, but Cohen acknowledged that won’t happen.

“We might as well be writing to Santa Claus and asking him for a Lexus,” he said.